Lufthansa Cargo Targets 25% World Market Share

But large numbers of jobs also depend on the success of the cargo airline's new corporate strategy, chairman Wilhelm Althen warned.

Loss-making Lufthansa Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, aims to become the leading logistics supplier in the air cargo market by developing integrated transport services together with partners, chairman Althen told a news conference.

We want to be the leading logistics provider in the global air cargo market. We are already the largest carrier and have the largest global network, he said.

We have a world market share of seven per cent in terms of revenue-tonne-kilometres. I believe we can come to 25 per cent by perhaps

 

2000, Althen said.

This would include the shares of partner airlines such as United Airlines, Scandinavian Airline System, South African Airways, Korean Airlines and

Singapore Airlines, he added.

Althen said Lufthansa Cargo had reduced staff numbers by 600 to some 5,000

employees over the past two years.

If we have success with this concept then I believe we will not need any more job losses. If not, then we will need to have massive job losses, he warned.

Lufthansa Cargo believed a new strategy was needed to meet the changing needs of air cargo shippers who were increasingly seeking a small number of transport and logistics partners, Althen said.

Shorter product life-cycles, smaller products, increasing market transparency, globalisation and competition from integrators were the chief market dynamics at present.

Miniaturisation of products also increased the value of the shipment per kilo, he noted.

We must meet these market requirements and as quickly as possible, he said.

Althen praised the success of freight integrators such as DHL, Federal Express, TNT and UPS in targeting client needs for documents and express goods.

But they were now expanding into the heavy freight industry as a growth market and represented new competitors, he said.

They built up systems which were way ahead of ourselves and still are, he said.

Their success was to offer an integrated chain and we, together with many, many partners cannot do that, he said.

Lufthansa Cargo business development manager Michael Kraus added that companies such as Siemens were now selecting strategic logistics partners including airlines and forwarders.